GALLERY 851
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Alexander Reinwald, Gallery 851
851 Springs Fireplace Road, East Hampton, NY 11937
(917) 293-7845
info@gallery851.com
EAST HAMPTON, NY – AUGUST 31, 2026
HILDY MAZE: VISUAL POETRY
Gallery 851 will be presenting Hildy Maze, VISUAL POETRY, on view September 10 – October 4, 2026 – the first of two successive exhibitions.
OPENING RECEPTION
September 10, 2026, 6 – 9pm
In Part One, Visual Poetry, 851 will primarily be showing gestural figurative abstract oil & mixed media paintings on canvas/linen. There will also be framed drawings.
Hildy Maze (1949 – 2020) was an American artist with Turkish, Russian, and Austrian heritage. Born in Brooklyn, NY, she received a BFA from Pratt Institute. For many years Hildy lived and worked in her loft in Tribeca, NYC, before moving to East Hampton, NY, in 1984. Her work is influenced by her 25-year study and practice of Tibetan Buddhist meditation involving the recognition of the intrinsic nature of mind. Hildy's work visually plays with how we obscure our recognition of this clear, empty awareness of mind. Ms. Maze's work has been exhibited throughout the world, including NYC, Long Island City, Brooklyn, California, Beijing, China, and Cologne, Germany. She has won numerous awards and is in several private collections in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
IN HER WORDS
Is it possible to truly perceive, truly see, without being clouded by all that goes on in our mind, our habitual thinking patterns, our hopes and fears, the memories and perceptions that we select to hold space there? What precisely are those thoughts and emotions that color our perceptions? Could we loosen our grasp on what we think we believe? Can we see beyond the ‘reality’ that we create over and over – and which we mistakenly regard as stable and secure – to more fully appreciate that actually, all of this is transient and insubstantial?
Using my experience of passion, aggression and ignorance I delve into the discursive thought patterns and emotions that obscure the recognition of our basic nature of mind which is empty, lucid, all-accommodating space continuously awake and aware. I’m interested in persuading the viewer from the boundaries of the image, to engage with matters beyond what is immediately visible; to relate with who we are as deconstructed, uncreated, i.e. more expansive and gentle than our usual descriptions of ourselves and how the culture defines us. Everything begins as thought then manifests as a physical reality. We are not going to fix our world without healing the patterns of thought that are driving the world into its present state. By delving beneath the turbulence of thoughts we can uncover in ourselves “something” that we begin to realize lies behind all the discursiveness, changes, and deaths of the world.
I refer to instructions from Trungpa Rinpoche that said art arises from a deep connection between mind and heart, seeing from within. In other words, drawing from pure awareness without visually grasping – beginning from uncertainty, without reference point. I devised a technique which allowed the essential nature to be drawn freely without judgment, to be spontaneous and personal.
“Our attitude and integrity as artists are very important. We need to encourage and nourish the notion that we are not going to yield to the neurotic world. Inch by inch, step-by-step, our effort should wake people up through the world of art rather than please everyone and go along with the current.” – Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from an essay on Dharma Art
“Her artworks seem to be visual poetry: a visual poem, all at once.”
– Casey Lewis, Artist – 2015
ABOUT GALLERY 851
Gallery 851 is an independent, artist-run exhibition and studio space in the historic district of Springs, NY. Presenting contemporary art with a focus on both the maker and their work. Programming will include group and solo exhibitions by emerging, mid-career and established artists, as well as features of historically significant artists, in cooperation with representative estates.
For more information, exhibition images, or to arrange a preview – please email info@gallery851.com
